Weekend Reading: Alice in Zombieland
On a recent weekend trip, I had the rare, wonderful opportunity to read a book un-interrupted. (I had to leave my laptop and work-in-progress at home. My husband made me promise. And cross my fingers. And submit to a pat-down before I got in the car, which I suspect for his own amusement. ) And because I love Gena Showalter and was interested in seeing her take on YA zombies, I picked up “Alice in Zombieland.”
Alice did not disappoint. I was pulled in front from the very first chapter, by Alice’s resentment toward her seemingly paranoid father and yearning for a normal family life; by the foreshadowing of her parents’ warnings about the monsters lurking in the dark; and her guilt when those same monsters murder her entire family*. Beyond her intelligent, wary delivery, Showalter’s approach to zombies as a spiritual infection rather than brain-eating ghouls was fresh and interesting. And it allowed a squeamish gal like me to really enjoy a zombie story for the first time. (The Walking Dead commercials make me cry.) Alice kicks major zombie butt and it’s nice to see a strong, sensible female characters for young readers to enjoy.
I can’t wait to follow Alice and her new-found friends, a band of zombie-fighting teenagers that train like a squadron out of the Buffyverse, in this new series. The next installment, Through the Zombie Glass, will be released in October 2013.
*It’s not a spoiler. It’s in the cover summary.
My question: Are zombie books scarier than zombie movies? I’ve found that I have nightmares after reading zombie books because the violence is “in my head” rather than on a screen. Thoughts?
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